Just in case you were wondering, the answer is no, Rick Grimes’ previously announced exit from The Walking Dead in its upcoming ninth season is not a ruse. But what about Andrew Lincoln, the actor who plays him? Because he wants to become a director, and he wants to give it a shot during the show’s 10th season. “I’m going back,” he told EW. Michael Cudlitz, who played Abraham Ford, recently directed “Stradivarius,” the seventh episode of the current season set to air in November.